Jos crisis worse than Biafra war, says senator

The senator representing Plateau North, Gyang Nyam Pwajok, yesterday said the protracted crisis in the state is worse than the 30 months of Biafra war that occurred between 1967 and 1970.

Addressing reporters in Abuja, the senator urged the Federal Government to establish a Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Stability Fund to address the fallout of the crisis.

He noted that the destruction caused by the 1994, 2001 and 2008 conflicts had not been reconstructed.

Pwajok said: “When I talked about establishing a Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Stability Fund, somebody said it is actually more or less an incentive for further conflict. We had a civil war and we had to pass through a reconstruction effort. In fact, the damage this protracted conflict has caused can be more than the civil war damage in itself.

“This is because the nature of the conflict is such that people have died on all sides, whether it is Muslim, Christian, indigene or non-indigene.

“Many people have died, many others have lost their property, even in the nature of the relationship between communities. Victims end up becoming perpetrators and perpetrators end up becoming victims at certain moments.

“If you check, the conflict of 1994 left behind structures that were battered. In the 1994 conflict, during military era, some of the destroyed property have not been reconstructed. In 2001, there was another conflict in which a number of structures were ravaged. Nobody has done anything about them.

“In 2008, a number of structures were destroyed; nothing has happened in some areas. Yet, there is government’s effort to reconstruct, even at the state level and even help the residents to stand on their feet. Once there is a fresh conflict, the property gets burnt again.”